Forget 8-megapixel pictures and HDR — if you want photos that instantly look cool, then it’s time to take a step back… all the way back to the eighties. Camera C64 is a free iPhone app that helps you relive the days when the Commodore C64 was considered cutting-edge technology by delivering authentic 16-color photos that are almost guaranteed to look good.

Camera C64 uses exactly the same idiosyncratic palette that was used by the C64’s VIC-II chip, along with a realistic dithering effect that was used to alleviate the lack of realistic colors in the C64 palette. The app then decreases your images to 320×200 pixels, which is the same resolution of the C64.

That sounds awful given today’s high-resolution photos, but it actually provides you with some pretty great results — as you can see from my samples above and below. You can save your photos to your camera roll, share them via Facebook, Twitter, or email,

What’s great about Camera C64 is that it displays its effects in real-time, so you can see exactly what you’re photo is going to look like before you snap it; there’s no need to apply the effects later and then wait for the magic to happen. The app also comes with some additional filters that emulate a black and white TV, and an amber and green monitor, which are available through an in-app purchase at $0.99.

You can find Camera C64 in the App Store now using the source link below.